The present invention relates to a stuffed toy and a method of making the same, and more particularly to a personalized and safe stuffed toy for a purchaser and a method for making the same.
Stuffed animals and toys are typically formed by filing a sewn fabric skin or body with a resilient material such as polyester-cellulose fibers alone or along with polystyrene beads or other filler materials, creating a three-dimensional soft and resilient representation of an animal or other toy. Most stuffed toys are manufactured by first sewing the skin together from multiple pieces of fabric, leaving an opening through which stuffing may later be inserted. Where two or more pieces of fabric are sewn together, they are sewn such that the bulky portion of the seam faces the inside of the finished skin. Therefore, the skin is inside out so that unfinished edges of the pieces of fabric from which the skin is formed are all located on the inside of the finished stuffed toy. Once the pieces of fabric are sewn together into a finished skin or body, the skin or body is turned right side out so that the best and smooth finished side of the fabric faces outwardly and the rough seams are hidden. Next, stuffing is inserted through the stuffing opening until the interior volume of the xe2x80x9ccontainerxe2x80x9d defined by the inside of the skin is substantially full of the stuffing material, giving the stuffed toy a resilient three-dimensional shape, much like the inflation of a balloon.
In small scale or custom manufacturing, the plush toy may be hand stuffed. That is, handfuls of stuffing may be pushed through the stuffing opening in the skin or body. In larger scale manufacturing, some type of stuffing injection tube is often used to insert stuffing into the skin or body. An injection tube is inserted through the stuffing opening and the stuffing material is then injected or pumped through the tube into the interior of the stuffed toy.
When the stuffed toy is sufficiently filled with stuffing material, the stuffing opening must be closed to give the stuffed toy an acceptable appearance and to prevent leakage of the stuffing material. Traditionally, the stuffing opening is sewn closed from the outside of the skin using a sewing machine. This approach has several disadvantages. First, the resulting seam generally has a wound-like appearance That is, sewing the opening shut from the outside creates a ridge or thick-type scar which is readily apparent on the skin of the finished stuffed toy. It is desirable to eliminate this wound-like ridge or thick-type scar to improve the appearance and feel of stuffed toys. Second, closing the stuffing opening by sewing from the outside of the skin after the stuffing material is inserted can be a relatively time-consuming procedure and a costly labor expense. Also, special equipment such as sewing materials and/or a sewing machine are required to close the opening. Third, should the sewn closure of the stuffing opening be or become defective (i.e., wholly or partially open) during use, the stuffing material may escape from the interior volume of the stuffed toy and become accessible to a child in the vicinity of the stuffed toy. The stuffed materials may be unpleasant when ingested or otherwise directly contacted by a child. Accordingly, for the various reasons stated above and others, sewing as a method of closing the stuffing opening has fallen into disfavor. See U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,196.
Children have a natural affinity to stuffed toys because of the soft, warm, cuddly feel of the stuffed toy. A current marketing trend is to build upon this natural affinity by developing a special one-to-one personal relationship between the child and the stuffed toy. For example, a xe2x80x9cbirth certificatexe2x80x9d may be provided, identifying the stuffed toy by a name selected by the child purchaser and identifying the latter as a parent of the stuffed toy. (Similarly, broken toys are not repaired, but rather sent to a xe2x80x9ctoy hospital.xe2x80x9d) While the xe2x80x9cbirth certificatexe2x80x9d concept may appeal to children with verbal skills, and preferably a degree of reading skills, it is less effective with younger children for whom legal documents such as xe2x80x9cbirth certificatesxe2x80x9d are without significance.
However, even a pre-verbal child would appreciate and personally relate to the xe2x80x9cbirthxe2x80x9d of a stuffed toy right before the child""s eyes. Personalization of the toy would follow the vision of a limp figure (i.e., an unstuffed toy) coming to life as the unstuffed form becomes stuffed and swells to assume the final configuration and dimensions of the stuffed toy, right before the child""s eyes, and then the xe2x80x9clivexe2x80x9d stuffed toy being delivered directly to the child for nurturing.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of making a personalized stuffed toy for a purchaser.
Another object is to provide such a method which in one preferred embodiment will provide personalization of import even to a pre-verbal child purchaser.
A further object is to provide such a method wherein in one preferred embodiment the unstuffed toy is formed at one site and transported unstuffed to a remote site containing the stuffing apparatus.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such a method, which in one preferred embodiment is safe and economical and results in a safe stuffed toy.
It is another object to provide in one preferred embodiment a safe stuffed toy which precludes access by a child to the stuffing material, even when the stuffing aperture is partially or fully reopened.
It has been found that the above and related objects of the present invention are obtained in a method of making a personalized stuffed toy for a purchaser. The method comprises the steps of providing a plurality of fabric members fastened together so as to define a container which encloses an interior volume and which has an exterior surface defining a shape of the toy. The container further includes a stuffing opening in communication with the interior volume, actuatable means secured to the container adjacent the opening for closing the opening upon actuation, a flexible conduit means secured to the container adjacent the opening for providing communication between the opening and the interior volume, and actuatable blocking means for blocking the conduit means upon actuation. Also, provided is a stuffing apparatus having an injection tube and means for propelling a stuffing material through the injection tube. The conduit means is inserted over the injection tube. The toy is personalized by stuffing it in the presence of a purchaser thereof by injection stuffing the stuffing material into the interior volume through the injection tube, thereby to cause the container to assume the shape of the stuffed toy. The conduit means is then withdrawn from the injection tube. The blocking means is actuated to block the conduit means, and the closing means is actuated to close the opening, thereby to retain the stuffing material in the interior volume. Finally, the personalized stuffed toy is delivered to the purchaser.
Preferably the toy is further personalized by also performing in the presence of the purchaser the inserting and withdrawing steps. Preferably the container is formed at one site and transported unstuffed to a remote site containing the stuffing apparatus.
In a preferred embodiment, the closing means is soft and flexible and releasably closes the opening upon actuation. Optimally, the closing means is VELCRO comprising a multi-microhook portion and an opposed multi-microloop portion.
In another preferred embodiment, the blocking means is an untensioned, loose lock-stitch, and the means for actuating the blocking means is a portion of the lock-stitch for tensioning the samexe2x80x94e.g., a filament. The blocking means is actuated by pulling the filament, the filament optimally being knotted after pulling. Thus, the actuated blocking means blocks the conduit means, thereby to retain the stuffing material in the interior volume even if the opening is reopened.
The present invention additionally encompasses a toy ready for stuffing comprising a plurality of fabric members fastened together so as to define a container which encloses an interior volume and which has an exterior surface defining the shape of the toy. A stuffing opening in the container is in communication with the interior volume, and actuatable closing means, secured to the container adjacent the opening, are provided for releasably closing the opening upon actuation. Flexible conduit means, secured to the container adjacent the opening, provides communication between the opening and the interior volume, and actuatable blocking means, secured to the conduit means are provided for blocking the conduit means upon actuation. Thus, after stuffing material is introduced into the interior volume, the actuated blocking means blocks the conduit means, and the actuated closing means closes the opening, thereby to cause the stuffing material to be retained in the interior volume. The stuffed toy is safe, as the stuffing material is retained in the interior volume even if the opening is reopened.